Thoughts on Love

I’ve written many things in the past, from poetry, to stories, to letters, and various other sundry items. I’ve dwelt upon the topic of love and life. I’ve plunged to the depths of loneliness and despair. I’ve have been depressed and somber. I’ve wished and hungered for the ever elusive “in love.” I’ve longed for “moments.” I’ve soared the heights of being what I thought was “in love,” only to crashed down to the land of reality.

To be “in love,” what is that? I say these things mostly for myself. I am rambling in my thoughts for you to see my mind. You may be bored. You may find this trifling. What is it to be “in love?” Is it that rush of emotions, the exhilaration of a touch? An Ella Fitzgerald once asked the musical question, “Are the stars out tonight? I don’t know if it’s cloudy or bright. ‘Cause I only have eyes for you dear.” Is that what it means to be “in love?” That loss of awareness of anything else except the person desired?

Can one be “in love” for a lifetime or is it only just fleeting moments of passion or desire that we experience? Can it be classified as being ‘love’ or should it be termed ‘lust?’

The 77’s once sang, “I feel like I have to feel something good all of the time. With most of my life I cannot deal but a good feeling I can feel even though it may not be real. And if a person, place, or thing can deliver, I will quiver with delight. But will it last me for all my life, or one more lonely night, the lust, the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life, drain the life right out of me.” – Mike Roe.

The Bible declares that some people will be “…lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God.” 2 Tim 3:4. If God is Love, are the pleasures we seek the antithesis of love, thus the opposite of who God is? Is being “in love” only our desire to seek our own pleasure and in direct conflict with God, who is True Love? Since Jesus is God in flesh, is He the revelation of love? If we believe that He is, should we not seek Him first?

Emotions can be turned by the whisper of a phrase, the flash of a smile, or the slightest gesture of kindness? But behind the turn, flash, or gesture what is the motive? Do we seek someone’s attention because we think him or her worthy of us and deserve our attention? Do we “love” someone because of what they can do for us? Are we seeking someone for ourselves because they will “enhance our being?” Why are you attracted to the person or object of your desire? It’s so easy to get swept away in a moment that we don’t take the time to plunge into the depths of the object of that affection. So many are battered upon the rocks of reality when getting past the surface to the core of what we desire.

Sometimes when we dig to the core we find the motive in ourselves and we don’t like what we find. We recoil in horror, or we run away in shame. We hide; we push away those that we love. We don’t like what we find and we don’t want others to see. We’re ashamed. When Adam and Eve succumbed to temptation and disobeyed God they were confronted with the specter of themselves – naked and ashamed, separated from God. When God came into the garden Adam and Eve hid and tried to cover their shame. When confronted by God they tried to place the blame elsewhere, even going so far as Adam trying to indirectly blame God for their disobedience. “The woman whom YOU gave me…” Eve had a better excuse…”The serpent deceived me.”

“The devil made me do it!” a Flip Wilson character always used to declare. How much is truly the devil, and how much is our own desires. The devil tempts, we only respond. We can respond by faith to the One who loves us with everything in Him, or give in to the father of lies.

“For God so loved the world…” John 3:16. He loved us so much He gave his life. Everything He did/does/will do He does for us. God made the covering for Adam and Eve. It took a sacrifice. God has made a covering for us. It took His greatest sacrifice. Love covers a multitude of sins. (Proverbs 10:12, James 5:20)

I believe God created us so He could have an outlet to share His love. We responded by rejecting Him, abusing Him, and ultimately crucifying Him. Love, many times, takes a backseat to our own desires. But God, like the prodigal’s father, waits with arms open wide, forgiveness in heart, and a robe of righteousness for our tattered clothes of self-righteousness.

May we surrender to Jesus, for when we surrender to Jesus, we surrender to True Love.

There is so much missing from this. There is so much to learn.